Astrologaster is a narrative game where you interpret the stars to change lives

If you’ve lost your pet, or fallen ill with a pox, or even got suspicions about your neighbours, why not check in with local Astrologer Doctor Simon Forman. Astrologaster is a clever narrative title with an interesting, star-reading system to control the story.

Astrologaster, from Nyamyam (Tengami), follows the story of historical figure Doctor Simon Forman — notable for making a living by reading the stars and rejecting traditional sciences, and doing so at a time when people were desperate for any help they could get: The Great Plague. However, with the plague now past, Simon is in a bit of a situation. Public trust in his ways as an astrologer are at an all-time high, but the medical community is out for blood.

Similar to Nyamyam’s previous title, Tengami, Astologaster has a memorable visual style — that of pop-up storybooks and pin-puppets. It’s a really charming design decision, and the storybook style gives it a fairytale aesthetic which actually caused me elation when I realised that each of Simon’s patients were interlinked with one another. I’d previously thought of it as a game where the patients simply nodded towards the main character’s ultimate fate — like tallies toward an ending — when instead they all interlace their stories.

The interlacing stories are fantastic, that said. Characters will actively try to use you as a mediator, or to assure one another of things. You can play to this as much as you wish. One character, I was informed, didn’t partake in drinking — but, even armed with this knowledge, I opted to blame alcohol for their recent state, to a really funny outcome.

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While playing through the demo at EGX earlier in the year, it took me some time to understand the way you choose to read the stars. As it turns out, I was overthinking it. Traditional A-B-C selections are replaced with stars and planets within the sky. With the selection comes an interpretation of it and some hints as to what Simon’s prognosis will be.